Lumen expands network with northern fiber route for AI data movement

"“Enterprises are building for what comes next -more AI workloads, more distributed infrastructure, and more demand for low latency capacity in the right places,” said Lumen Chief Commercial Operations Officer Kye Prigg. “We're not just building routes; we're building a connected national fabric. NorthLine will deliver a new northern route paired with the predictable, high-capacity services customers need to make more confident infrastructure decisions.”"

"“NorthLine will integrate with Lumen's national network, enabling customers to extend connectivity beyond the route and build seamless cross-country paths on newly built fiber infrastructure. The route will support 100G and 400G wavelength services and be delivered through Lumen RapidRoutes-pre-engineered routes with validated capacity and a 20-day service level agreement for qualified deployments.”"

"“NorthLine is being built for long-term scale,” said Prigg. “We'll deploy the very latest optical technologies that maximize fiber efficiency today while creating a clear path to future 800G and 1.6 terabit wavelengths as demand continues to grow.”"

"“Expected to be available by the end of 2026, NorthLine is designed to give enterprises, cloud providers, and AI innovators a more direct route option between key markets, simplifying architectures and reducing reliance on fragmented, multi-provider infrastructure.”"

A new low-latency fiber route called NorthLine will connect Seattle to Minneapolis and expand connectivity across a northern U.S. corridor between the Pacific Northwest and central U.S. markets. The route will integrate with Lumen’s national network so customers can extend connectivity beyond the route and build seamless cross-country paths on newly built fiber infrastructure. NorthLine will support 100G and 400G wavelength services and be delivered through Lumen RapidRoutes pre-engineered routes with validated capacity and a 20-day service level agreement for qualified deployments. The deployment is expected by the end of 2026 and is designed to simplify architectures and reduce reliance on fragmented, multi-provider infrastructure while enabling future 800G and 1.6 terabit wavelengths.

Read at Telecompetitor